A New Baby Brother
by kittyface27
Summary: Ace lives a dreary life, until he finds a little boy in a box in the park. No one wants him, so he decides to keep the little one, changing everything about his life. A baby brother who makes his day is always welcome! Rated T for swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**So this story is purely fluff, which I've never done before. I tried to make it as cute and fuzzy as possible. Another baby Luffy fic cause I love them! Now, I don't have a child or little sibling, so try to ignore if I have some behaviors that don't match little Luffy's age. Enjoy~**

Luffy looked over the top of the side of the box he was put it. It was just a wide open area, and there was a lot of trash. Everything was brown or gray and cold. Luffy didn't like this color scheme. He liked fun and happy colors. He didn't see much of that besides his wings. They had always stood out. He didn't know why he was in a box, or why everyone had always been so mean to him since he could remember. Maybe they put him in the box?

But Luffy didn't focus on that anymore as he instead stared at the butterfly sitting almost on his nose. Luffy's own wings fluttered at the excitement of seeing something happy in this sad place. He played with the butterfly until it flew away and didn't come back. He sat down in the box and watched the tall people who passed by him after giving a glance. They almost all frowned at him. It made Luffy sad, and the butterfly did not come back.

Ace walked back to his apartment building through the park. Not that it really even was a park anymore. Nothing was green anymore, and people only went there to get so somewhere else easier. He looked up at the gray sky. Another gray sky would probably last all day again.

He was pretty sure he was going to get a notice saying he was politely laid off from his job. The boss wasn't too bothered by laying off employees without seeing them, especially those like Ace. The ones who shout and make a big stink out of things. Ace knew he could be an ass, but a lot of it was uncontrollable and immediate. Knee jerk reactions that he'd then apologize for. But obviously, this job was not working out with him, but it payed decent. He just no motivation to do anything, or any drive to attempt to get there.

But he did the best he could with how much energy he had.

The twenty three year old looked ahead to the box that'd been sitting there for a while now. He wondered what was inside, since people who walked past look down in it with a look of disgust. Was it something dead? Or just really nasty trash? He wandered over to the box and looked down at the young child sitting in it. The little boy had to be around a year old. Ace frowned.

This little boy didn't belong here. Ace crouched in front of him. "You're in the wrong part of town, buddy," Ace said to him a bit sadly. When Ace spoke to him, the little one walked to his side of the box, his purple butterfly wings fluttering in happiness that someone talked to him nicely.

Luffy was in the part of town that did not welcome creatures like him. No happy creatures were meant to live in this place. It was desolate, dirty and over all violent. Fights broke out throughout the city. For so long, grumpy and "evil" creatures had thrived in this area. To put this baby in a box like that was offering it up to any fate. The kid could be eaten by a dog and the owner wouldn't bat an eye. Well, Ace would.

"You're coming with me for now," Ace said as he reached into the box and picked Luffy up. He smiled and fluttered his little wings again. Ace held Luffy up with one arm across his back against his chest and the other's hand holding up his little bum. Luffy's wings relaxed until they were flat on his bare back.

Luffy relaxed into the young man's grip. Ace had smiled at him. No one smiled at Luffy! His wings fluttered happily against his back, akin to how a dog's tail would wag. All he was wearing was a pair of blue shorts. No one had put a shirt on him because of the short inconvenience of going around the wings. Ace knew how to alter shirts to fit around angel wings or bat wings, but he'd never come across one with butterfly wings. Those were pretty fragile, weren't they?

"How old are you, little kid?" Ace asked curiously as he walked them to his apartment building. The kid flinched when he heard the angry barking coming from one of the units nearby. "Don't worry about that, he won't be coming over here any time soon." Luffy gripped his shirt tighter and made a soft content noise. Ace smiled down at him.

When they got to Ace's front door, he put Luffy down on the floor gently for a moment to be able to reach his keys and unlock it. Luffy just looked around his tight surroundings. They were the top floor apparently, so there werent any other doors besides Ace's front one. The building was pretty high, but not because of how many floors there were. There were only five stories, but it was so high from the vaulted ceilings of each complex.

"Crap, hang on," Ace mumbled as he walked inside of his unit, baby Luffy in his arms, gazing around the borng space. There were big windows, but it was a bad view. The place was cold, and Luffy shivered.

Ace busied around the room picking up trash and old snacks he'd left out. He didn't want the kid getting sick before Ace even did anything with him. Able to find out where would be best to send him. Ace had a feeling if he'd visited that park again tomorrow, Luffy would have been gone. Not in the good way.

"Alright. Can you talk?" Ace asked after scooping Luffy up and walking with him to the second hand futon couch. Luffy just looked at him with a content face. He didn't know what Ace was saying, he was only under a year and a half years old. "Do you have a name?" Luffy giggled.

"You just like hearing me talk, don't you?" Luffy's wings fluttered. "Well, even if you have no name, I can take you to the police tomorrow and get you a home somewhere other than here. You're very lucky I came along when I did." Luffy fluttered his wing happily again. "Heh, you're a weird one."

Ace just looked at Luffy as the little boy sat on his chest. Ace heard Luffy's noisy tummy rumble and it made Luffy pout. He was really hungry. The young man sat himself up with Luffy and brought him to the kitchen with him. They had to have something edible for him.

He glared at the contents of his fridge. He really needed to take that produce out, like a week ago. He had nothing Luffy could eat healthily. He scowled at the beer cans and messy take out leftovers. Ace looked through the cupboards, but the only thing he could find that would be truly healthy for Luffy to eat or drink was tap water.

"Well, looks like I'm going shopping," Ace said simply, not upset he had to leave. At least he had a pretty successful distraction from how crappy today had been. The man picked Luffy up and got his keys, starting the long walk to the supermarket, Luffy wrapped in a loose blanket to keep him warm in the cool evening air.

There were many noises outside, from fights, to the wind, to dogs howling, but Luffy was afraid of nothing. He just looked over Ace's shoulder as they walked to the market to get Luffy some food. He'd be spending the night with Ace, and then taken to the police department in the morning, but Ace had a nice laundry basket he could turn into a crib. He was glad he'd been forced to baby sit as a teenager, not that he was very good at it, but he was younger then.

Ace kept Luffy very close to his chest since he could see others staring at Luffy in slight disgust, since his wings could be seen just over the edge of the blanket. Little kids pointed at him and laughed, but Luffy didn't understand they were being deliberately mean. He just heard laughter. Everything was so interesting to him! There werent many bright colors, but he was seeing new scenery for once.

"Hmm… I wonder how old you are -," Ace began, only to realize this little kid didn't have a name. "Well, you'll have a name tomorrow probably," Ace said with a shrug, making Luffy giggle from the movement. Ace smiled. He saw a mother with her young son and sucked it up enough to go ask for help.

"Uh, excuse me?" he asked. "Do you know what kind of food I should buy him?" Ace didn't want to explain that the kid wasn't his, even if she probably wouldn't say or do anything about it.

"Baby food," the woman said shortly, seeing Luffy's tip of the wings and walking away with her child gripping her pant leg. The boy just looked curiously at Ace and Luffy, who had his thumb in his mouth as he watched what was going on around him with interest. Ace frowned at the woman's back as he adjusted Luffy's blanket.

When Luffy gave a big yawn, and looked sleepy, Ace went back to the front of the store and got a shopping cart for him, and set him in the kids' seat near the hand bars, keeping the blanket wrapped around his small body. "Well, if I do get fired tomorrow, at least I'll get my last paycheck," Ace said quietly as he got a few different flavors of baby food and a child's shirt that was much too big for Luffy, but would have to do. He didn't want to have to go to another store that day.

He paid for the small amount of items for that night with the small amount of money he had left until tomorrow, and was almost out the door when Luffy woke up. He looked to the side sleepily and made a loud and excited sound that startled Ace.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked, but then looked to what Luffy was reaching towards. It was the plant section just outside the doors. Flowers. Ace rolled the cart closer to the stack of small red flowers, smiling while Luffy reached his small hands towards them. He picked up one of the packages and handed it to Luffy, who "ahh"ed at it and lightly touched the petals.

"Well, butterflies do like flowers, so I guess it's natural," Ace said to himself, a little amused, and went back into the store to buy Luffy the little package of flowers.

Ace ended up stealing the shopping cart since he had nothing to carry the bags and Luffy with. Luffy stared at his flower the whole way home, through busier streets and not the dark park, not that Ace couldn't easily defend them both if need be.

Luffy had done well to not get upset about his rumbling tummy while they were at the store, but once Ace got through the front door, Luffy started whining. Ace had forgotten why he'd gone to the store in the first place until Luffy began to make upset noises. "Hang on," Ace said, sitting Luffy in the laundry basket he'd gotten on the way into the living room. He put the baby food in the fridge and got out a plastic spoon before sitting in front of the little boy.

"Don't make a mess now," Ace said before he started putting the spoons of soft applesauce into Luffy's small mouth. He was thankful Luffy didn't eat too much, and fell asleep in the little crib on his back, his wings resting flat against him. Ace covered him in a light blanket and brought him into the area he kept the bed.

Considering he only had one job, he had a nice place, even if it was in a crappy area and he had to walk up many stairs. The young man kept his watch on Luffy until he became tired as well. He got under the covers but kept the light on on one side of the room in case he had to be able to see Luffy if he woke up for something. But Luffy slept quietly and peacefully, only waking up when rays of sunshine hit his face.

Luffy made a giggle when he saw a fly buzz above him. It was making a strange noise. Ace woke to the noise, startled, until he remembered he had a small roommate with him that morning. Luffy had trouble sitting himself up, and made a pouty face as he wriggled in the makeshift crib.

"Morning, kid," Ace said with a smile when Luffy smiled at him. "We're gonna try and find a home for you today. Hungry?" Ace asked, knowing Luffy had no idea what he was saying. Luffy whined as he wriggled to sit up. Ace saved him and lifted his upper half up for him to sit. Then Ace saw Luffy's little shorts slide down to reveal a messily written thing on the tags of the blue bottoms.

"Luffy, huh? That's a unique name. Let's go get breakfast," the man said, picking Luffy up. Ace was very surprised he found that taking care of Luffy was relaxing and made him busy enough to not just sit on the couch and waste time. He'd call work that day, and if he wasn't fired, ask for a day off. Surely his boss would be nice enough to let him have a day off for this kind of situation.

When Ace took Luffy into the kitchen, Luffy made a very happy squeal when he looked at his flower resting on the kitchen counter. "Ah, I forgot about that. Do you want to water it?" Luffy just smiled, his wings fluttering on his bare back. Ace got a small cup of water and poured it slowly into the container, making sure a paper plate was under it. Luffy clapped his hands happily.

"Have you ever seen a flower before?" Ace wondered. Maybe it just had something to do with his wings being butterfly wings? Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Either way, it was cute. "Let's eat some food now," the man told him after setting him down on the crib he carried out in the middle of the living space, still in eyeshot.

Ace brought out a banana flavored baby food jar and made himself some toast. He ate his toast with one hand while he fed Luffy through the spoon with the other. Ace found himself talking to Luffy a lot, even though the baby couldn't talk back or understand what he was saying. Plus, he thought it was cute when Luffy's wings moved when Ace said something to him.

"I haven't had breakfast with someone in awhile, you know," he said through his toast, giving Luffy the last spoonful of baby food, which he thankfully liked. Ace brought Luffy the only thing he could think of as a toy at the moment that he could see, which was a wad of paper. It was like a ball, right? And he wouldn't choke on it. It turned out that Luffy was very interested in it, and scrunched it with his hands and played with it happily.

Ace got his phone and called his boss, ready to be told he was fired. After all, he'd made a big stink yesterday.

"Hello?" the old man answered on the second ring, sounding grumpy, like always.

"Heeyyy, boss. It's Ace." Newgate grumbled on the line.

"Whad'ya want, brat?" he asked. "I'm surprised you even called, since it's clear that your behavior is unacceptable. Even if you're a good leader and physically strong. And that wasn't meant to be a compliment." Ace laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, sorry about yesterday. I was just starving, and when Thatch stole my food, I kinda lost it. Anyways, I need a break today, if I'm not fired," he said nonchalantly. "I sorta found a baby in a box in the park and am going to turn him in today." Newgate made a surprised noise on the other end.

"Ace is gonna help a baby?" Thatch asked in the background before beginning to laugh. Ace did his best not to yell at his boss to not have him on speakerphone while at the office. He said nothing.

"Why did you decide to help a baby? And why the hell would he be left in a box at the park?" the boss questioned. Ace took a deep calming breath, realizing that, if he shouted, he might freak out the baby observing him with the now slobbery wad of paper in between his joined hands.

Ace smiled at him. "Well, I felt bad for him and it was getting dark. I think he was probably abandoned because he sorta has butterfly wings, and you know how people react to that kind of thing around here." Ace knew his boss would sympathize with Luffy. "He's pretty well behaved, so I think today would be easy to take him in." He paused. "So… can I take today off?"

Newgate grumbled again. "Yeah, but only 'cause I feel bad for the kid. He got a name?"

"Yeah. Luffy," Ace answered. He could hear people laugh at his choice of name in the background and snapped that he came with the name, and they needed to stop laughing at him. This only made the others laugh harder and even his boss was chuckling.

"You sure you want to give him up?"

"What are you talking about, I can't just keep a kid I found on the street!" Ace countered loudly, making Luffy frown, and lower lip wobble. When Ace shouted again for them to shut up, Luffy started crying.

Ace immediately set down the phone and hurried over to him. "Oh, I'm sorry Luffy. I didn't mean to scare you. I won't yell again, okay? I promise. I'll be right back," Ace said kindly and hurried over to the phone, where he could hear laughter. Crap, they heard him make that sweet voice.

"Oh, shut up…" Ace grumble quietly as he walked back to a sniffling Luffy to pat his dark hair affectionately, which made Luffy giggle.

"If you act that understanding and polite by being with that kid, I'll give you a couple days off. See if you can at least keep him temporarily. Good luck," and his boss hung up. Ace looked conflicted as he looked at Luffy, who was now tearing the soggy wad of paper into pieces with a smile.

He sighed. "Let's get dressed and see what to do with you," Ace said, getting Luffy's oversized shirt and cutting the back with some scissors. Luffy made a surprised noise when the shirt was pulled over his head gently and wrapping the hole for his wings into a tie above them. "It's too bad I don't have any shoes for you. But at least it's not too cold, right?" Luffy fluttered his small purple wings at Ace talking to him. Ace smiled at him.

"Let's go, Luffy. Hold onto your flower, okay?"

Ace stared in disbelief at the officer who just brushed off Luffy's situation with a grossed out look at the little boy. He just told Ace no one had time for Luffy. He wasn't part of their jurisdiction, and Ace could either deal with it himself or take Luffy to where "his kind" belonged. Ace fought the urge to punch the man, but he was holding Luffy, who was looking around at the interior of the busy building with interest. Ace scowled at the asshole's back and walked out of the building and sat on a bench across from the double doors.

"What now…?" Ace wondered. Ace noticed that Luffy's wings reacted to his mood. When he was happy, they fluttered quickly, and when he was sleepy or had to use the bathroom, they drooped. When Luffy had cried quietly earlier, his wings widened more.

Ace couldn't just take care of Luffy by himself. He was only 23! Plus, he never wanted to have a kid. He could never see himself being a father. Maybe an older brother, but he just didn't have the experience for raising a baby. He did really like Luffy, and he didn't want to leave him anywhere in this area, or trust any place to take care of him. And he had to work, too.

He was sure, if he behaved, he'd have enough money for them both, just making sure he didn't overspend. He wasn't sure what to do. He also didn't know how his family would react. Would they disapprove and shun Ace for caring for someone that most people who he was related to looked at with disdain.

Luffy was looking at Ace with a content smile, his tummy rumbling loudly. He made a whining noise and touched his tummy with a frown. Ace couldn't help but smile at him. "Well, it looks like you'll be staying with me for now. Guess we gotta go shopping don't we? Well, after I cash my paycheck that just came in. We'll go on a baby shopping spree. Doesn't that sound fun?" Luffy smiled at the happy tone of Ace's voice.

Ace walked with Luffy to the bank Ace was part of. He ignored the surprised looks that were given to him for carrying a child with butterfly wings when Ace was clearly not one of the happy creatures. Some frowned at him, but he just glared at those with a challenging look. As long as Luffy wasn't looking at his expression, Ace could look as hostile as he wanted to.

"Well, we're here," Ace said to Luffy as the little one sat at the front of the shopping cart of the baby's store. He looked at the list he'd found on his phone with things that were necessary for very young children. They started at the food section.

"Well, you seem like you don't need a bottle, so I'll just get you something called a sippy cup," Ace said mostly to himself as he piled cups and food and bibs into the cart. Next he went to toys and got a bunch of small toys for Luffy, which were nothing specific, like an older kids' would be. It was things for Luffy to hold in his hands and little puzzles Ace knew the little one would never be able to solve. He also got him a stuffed bee.

He bought a lot of clothes and shoes, actually liking the prospect of dressing Luffy up. Gah, it was all so weird to him! Luffy babbled as they walked around. Ace was able to find more happy products for him. Rainbow colors and light tones that could match his cute little wings, pressed against his back as he leaned into the seat keeping him up and looking at Ace.

The shopping spree ended up costing over $200, but Ace wasn't done even when they left the store, things much easier with carrying Luffy in a baby carrier, which Luffy found fun, and giggled everytime it swayed slightly.

Ace called a cab to get all of the things home, which the driver was not happy about. The entire back seat area was crammed with baby supplies. Plus, Luffy kept giggling quite loudly, annoying the man. Ace was going to get the crib and high chair delivered to his home.

The little kid was ecstatic when they entered a flower shop. He was clipped into the carrier, but reached towards every flower he saw. A few shoppers smiled at him, since they couldn't see his wings. After all, it was rare to have a bubbly baby where they lived.

Ace got Luffy a little pail with three flowers planted inside. He chose the flowers Luffy reached towards the most.

Finally, they got home, and It took Ace four trips up the stairs to get everything up. He had one nice neighbor who made sure none of his belongings were stolen while Ace made his way up and down the stairs, carrying Luffy and the bags at the same time.


	2. Chapter 2

Luffy was tired after their trip, and took a nap in Ace's lap while he watched TV. Luffy didn't stir he was so deeply asleep. When he did wake up, he was very relaxed and content to just lay in Ace's lap. His eyes crinkled in a smile when Ace noticed he was awake.

"Hey, Luffy. Sleep good?" Ace asked as he sat the baby up, his wings fluttering excitedly. "You really are cute." Luffy giggled. "But you do smell, now that I think about it… How do I bathe you?" he asked in concern.

Luffy's wings might get hurt if they're wet, and there wasn't exactly anyone he could get advice from. Not here, at least. "Well, I'll just put a light plastic bag around your wings… that should be safe. I'll just be careful."

Ace walked to the sink and cleaned it out by washing the basin. It was big enough for Luffy to sit in. He filled the sink and get out the soft skin soap he'd picked up at the babies department store.

Luffy _did not_ like baths. He fussed the whole time, trying to get out of the water, even though it was warm. When Ace frowned at him, Luffy started crying. "Okay, next time I'll take the bath with you in the big tub, okay? Just stop crying," Ace said in panic when Luffy didn't stop. "Uhh…" Ace mumbled nervously, before hurrying to a big fluffy blanket and wrapped it around Luffy and his towel, which was just a kitchen towel to dry him in.

Luffy was hiccuping, looking grumpy. "You're gonna have to get used to that. Being dirty is bad for you and those around you." Luffy frowned, his wings widening. "You big baby," Ace said fondly.

The next few days were hard for Ace. he wasn't used to living with someone else, especially that someone being a baby. He had to keep his eyes on Luffy constantly, and had to end up buying fences to make him a play area. Luffy was fine with that as long as Ace was in there with him. He was super clingy, which was cute but inconvenient at the same time.

He also cried whenever he was put in his crib when it was bedtime for both of them, so Ace had bought side railings and slept with Luffy on a pillow next to him. Luffy also could eat anything and everything he deemed looked good enough to be tasty. Including soap, dirt from his flower pot, and a live spider. So Ace had nothing laying on the ground, not even all of his toys at once. His apartment had never been cleaner.

The day came that he had to go back to work, so he spent a whole day looking for a decent day care for the little boy. He went to four all around town, and none of those would accept "Luffy's kind", which Ace was really getting tired of hearing. But on his fifth try, when he was about to just give up and find a way to take Luffy to work, he found a daycare that would take him in. He was ecstatic that he'd found somewhere that would accept his baby brother by claim.

Luffy's first day, he mostly spent time with one of the caregivers who supervised and took care of the kids under three. She kept Luffy occupied and unfocused on the other little kids looking at him strange. Some laughed at him, but Luffy took no notice, and just had a fun time with all of the toys around him. He did miss Ace, but the toys were fun and the room he was in looked happier than Ace's boring apartment.

For each day Luffy went to the daycare, he fed his patch of flowers, which he visited often, wobbling over to them to look at them happily. He loved flowers. And he didn't eat them, either, even though they smelled good.

"He's looking at his flowers again. He's so weird," a mean spirited, red haired boy said. He was five, and it was only one year before he started kindergarten. He and his little group of friends mocked Luffy through the window separating the age groups. He jeered at Luffy's wings, which were purple, a _girl's_ color. Luffy took no notice to him, until one day, the mean kid came into his area when the caregiver was distracted by another toddler's meltdown over a dropped piece of candy.

Luffy was sitting, playing with blocks, when the kid came over. He looked up curiously, but then frowned when the older boy approached his flowers. Luffy was very territorial about his flower garden, and got up to try and shoo him away.

But Luffy was much smaller, and didn't deter the mean kid, who was smirking at Luffy as his hand got closer to Luffy's flower's delicate stem.

"Aaaaa!" Luffy cried at him with a pout, trying to get the scary boy away from his special flowers! "AAAAA!" he cried louder when the kid started to pull off the leaves while laughing at him. Before the mean boy pulled the stem off completely, a green haired boy ran over and grabbed the red head's hand.

"Leave him alone, Kid," the older boy said with a hard glare, which Kid, the mean boy, returned. Kid released the flower stem, and Luffy hurried over to and defended them, standing in front of his precious flowers.

"He doesn't belong here. Butt out, Zoro." Zoro glared at him.

"You don't belong here. This is the little kids' space." He didn't look at Luffy behind him, who started to cry at the leaves that had been pulled off the flower's stem. The caregiver who'd just dealt with one meltdown hurried over to the group of boys and to Luffy, who was holding his leaves and sobbing.

"Kid! What are you two doing here? Did you pull off Luffy's leaves?" Makino, the one who focused on Luffy the most, asked Kid angrily. The redhead looked away. "Go to time out chair, now, and I'll call your mother to have you picked up. You don't bully others here or you'll be asked to leave permanently. This is your final warning," Makino said sternly, unphased by Kid's deep frown.

"Zoro, you should go back to your area, too." Both boys walked back to their area, Kid grudgingly going to the time out chair. He continued to glare at Zoro and Luffy, wearing a big pout himself. Luffy continued to cry.

"Luffy, it's okay," Makino comforted. "Your other flowers are okay. I'm sure the leaves will grow back," she said kindly, but Luffy just continued to look at the bright green leaves that left his pretty flowers. He was inconsolable, and Makino ended up calling Ace before calling Kid's mom.

"Ace, your phone is ringing!" Thatch called from below where Ace was working. He stopped the drilling and took the ear muffs off, asking who it was. He immediately completely stopped what he was doing and took the phone when the man replied that it was Luffy's daycare.

"Hello?" he asked quickly once the phone was to his ear. "What? Someone bullied him?! Yeah, can you put him on the phone?" Ace asked, trying to not sound angry. He could hear Luffy crying as he was told what had happened.

"Hey, Luffy. I heard what happened. I'm sure your flower will be okay," Ace said gently to the sniffling baby brother on the other line. "Don't worry, I'm sure Makino will make sure your flowers are taken care of. Why don't you feed them and make sure they're in the sunlight?"

" _Ehhhh..._ " Luffy whined, still sniffling. He liked Ace's voice, and it calmed him down a little bit.

"I know, that wasn't very nice. I'm coming to get you soon, and I'll take a look at them, okay?" Ace said gently. He was furious at whoever hurt his precious Luffy.

" _Mmmm."_

"Okay, why don't you put Makino back on the phone?" Ace asked. He heard the muffling sound when the phone changed places.

"I'm just about off work, so I'll be there soon, and talk to you then. Thanks for calling. Okay, see you soon," Ace said and hung up, still angry at anyone, child or not, who made Luffy cry.

"Someone bullied Luffy!" he raged, startling the others in the break room. "If they werent a kid I'd fucking punch them!"

Marco, the architect nearest to a raging Ace, laughed. "It's still so funny how much you care about Luffy already. You've only been taking care of him for a few weeks!"

Ace glared at him, slightly blushing. Thatch burst into laughter and Izo smiled. "Shut up," Ace grumbled. "I'm off in a bit, and the parents better be there so I can take out my anger on them instead of their brat."

"Now, Ace, that's not setting a very good example for Luffy," Newgate grumbled to him, amused. Ever since Ace had taken in Luffy, he was more friendly and in control of his emotions and attitude with the others, though very fiery on the topic of Luffy.

"Shut up," Ace grumbled again, but deflated. He knew it would be a bad example to his little brother, and he liked how kind and gentle Luffy was. He didn't want to ruin that by setting bad examples in front of him. "If I can't yell, I'll glare or some shit."

The others laughed. As Ace was changing out of his work clothes, Thatch asked, "When are you gonna bring him in to meet us?"

"Never! You'll corrupt him, he's mine," Ace replied quickly.

"Aw, c'mon Ace! You go on about him all the time, but you won't let us meet him? And you still haven't told your family, have you?" Ace frowned. No, he hadnt told his family. He was afraid they'd disapprove. "You should at least tell Sabo, your brother, that he has another little brother since you won't be Luffy's parent."

"I'll tell him soon," Ace mumbled, saying goodbye as he hurried to Luffy's daycare, which wasn't too far away. Ace wished he had a car.

When he got to the daycare, it was around dinner time and Ace had his pack for Luffy staying at the daycare. He entered the big room and Luffy came hurrying towards him with a frown and some tears. Ace crouched down for the hug and then picked him up.

"Hey, Luffy. I'm really sorry about your flowers," Ace said. Luffy didn't know what he was saying, but that he was being nice. Ace took him into the room for Luffy's age group and went up to his flowers. If it werent for Luffy, he'd be completely embarrassed by kneeling down and kissing the stem, making it all better. "See? All better," Ace told him with a smile. He grinned when Luffy's purple wings fluttered. He brought him to the carrier, and said goodbye to Makino after asking if the kid who bullied him would be back.

"Not right away, he's suspended for a week. We take bullying very seriously here. There was a boy who came and helped, Luffy, though. He saved the flower," Makino told him. Ace was glad there was at least one kid nice to Luffy, despite his difference from everyone else.

Ace brought Luffy home while he napped in the carrier, and then gently woke him up for dinner, which was two baby food jars and a small soft cookie from a bag he'd bought a couple days ago from the store for treats.

After he ate, Luffy easily went to sleep in his basket crib in the living area when Ace wasn't sleeping with him for Ace's bed time. Luffy was a deep sleeper so Ace could carry him to his bed when they slept together.

The older brother looked at his phone's contact for his biological brother. What would Sabo think? Would he disapprove and tell Ace off for making a rash decision? Would he even care though since he was glad he took in Luffy? No, he wouldn't regret taking the baby in even if his whole family thought he was stupid for it.

He called Sabo's number.

"Hey, Ace! What's up?" Sabo greeted cheerfully.

"What do you mean, what's up?" Ace questioned. Sabo made it sound like there was a problem and that's why Ace called him.

"Well, you rarely call and it's usually for an emergency… so what's up?" Sabo asked again. "Ace?" he questioned after Ace said nothing.

"Well, I kind of have a surprise and don't know how you'd feel about it. It's not _bad,_ well, _I_ dont think it's bad, but I think you might…" Ace mumbled. He did care what Sabo thought, because he and Sabo were very close, even if they didn't see each other all of the time.

"What is it?" Sabo asked seriously. Ace paused and cleared his throat, telling his brother to not get upset. Sabo agreed.

"I sort of adopted a baby." There was silence on the other line. "Sabo?"

Then Sabo's voice exploded in his ear, "YOU ADOPTED A BABY?! SINCE WHEN DID YOU WANT A KID?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ANYONE?!"

"Gah, shut up! You'll wake him up!" Ace whisper-shouted. "And I'm not a dad, I'm his older brother. Besides, there was no other option or he'd either be abandoned or abused. It was a tough decision," (no, it wasn't), "and I think I made the right one. He's really sweet and things aren't so bland anymore. I'm also doing better at work and stuff. So you can't get mad about it."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Sabo asked, a bit hurt of learning so late.

"I haven't told anyone besides the guys at work. I think everyone would disapprove. He has butterfly wings. Everyone is so rude about it, acting like he's trash because of that. I found him in a box at the park all by himself. I tried taking him to the police, but they didnt do anything because he was a happy creature and they said he wasn't their problem. So I took him in, and I really don't regret it, Sabo. I love him. It's nice having him here," Ace said quietly. "I don't want you to hate him or anything because… well… then I'd be very upset.," he finished weakly.

"How horrible! Someone just left him in the park?!" Sabo shouted, horrified. Then he calmed, smiling on the other end from how earnest his brother sounded. Ace had said he'd never want children, so he was sort of copping out by claiming the baby was his brother, but Sabo was glad he found someone, even if it wasn't a partner or anything. "What's his name?"

"Luffy. I don't know how old he is. Maybe under two? It's hard to tell cause he's really small," Ace said, liking talking to someone else about his baby brother. "He's really sweet and is super clingy and is _obsessed_ with flowers. It's funny since he has butterfly wings and he's always wanting to buy flowers." Sabo could tell Ace was smiling as he talked.

"Can I come over and meet him?" Sabo asked, happy that Ace didn't regret it at all.

"Yeah. I have tomorrow off and was going to take Luffy to the petting zoo since I found kids under three are free. I don't have a car seat for him since I don't have a car in the first place, so we are walking. Well, I'm walking and he's in the carrier," Ace explained. He was glad Sabo was being nice about the situation, whether he really felt that way or was just trying to be merciful, Ace was grateful. "You can meet us there at noon if you want."

"Sounds like a plan. And I expect to be able to take pictures, so make him presentable," Sabo said with an air of humor.

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight," Ace said, hanging up the phone with a smile. He closed the curtains and carried the baby to their bed, laying him on the cushion just for him next to Ace's head. He was happy he was going to see his brother, and introduce him to Luffy. He knew Sabo would like Luffy, since Sabo was always a pretty gentle person as well, even if he grew up in the crappy part of town with Ace and his family.

"Bath time, Luffy. I don't want Sabo to see anything bad about you. He has to see how wonderful you are, and for that, we are taking a bath!" Ace said as he carried a protesting Luffy into the tub with him. Luffy still didn't like baths, but was much more cooperative when it wasn't in the sink and there were at least bubbles. If there weren't, he was a nightmare. It was the only time he didn't behave.

Luffy whined as his hair was rinsed, his small wings wrapped loosely in syran wrap. "You gotta be a good boy like usual for Sabo. I'm sure he'll like you, but you have to make sure to be a good boy."

After that, Ace dressed Luffy in a long sleeve shirt and some shorts, and some soft shoes that were more like socks with thick bottoms. Ace had bought Luffy onesies, but he didn't seem to like them. Plus, they were more difficult for Ace to cut the back for, so Luffy mostly wore t-shirts and comfy shorts.

Luffy was sleepy as Ace left the apartment to walk to the petting zoo not far from their home. Luffy napped in the carrier as Ace sweated from nerves. He cared what Sabo thought more than he'd admit, and he would be thoroughly upset if Sabo didn't like Luffy.

Ace grew nervous when he saw Sabo standing near the entrance to the local zoo, leaning against the ticket booth. He slowed his walking unintentionally, and jumped when Luffy laughed loudly. Looks like the baby had woken up and was looking at the balloons tied to the entrance archway. Ace smiled, feeling comforted by Luffy.

"Ace!" Sabo greeted when he caught sight of his younger brother, baby carrier and backpack in all. Sabo couldn't see Luffy from the shadow of the visor of his carrier. It was a strange sight, but Ace had a light in his eyes Sabo hadn't seen in years. He also didn't have the circles under his eyes that he used to always have.

Ace reached Sabo, looking uncomfortable. "So he's my _brother,_ not nephew?" Sabo asked with a smile.

"Brother! I'm not a dad," Ace said hardly. "Don't laugh, Sabo. Being a father sounds so boring and time consuming. I'm just a brother raising his younger brother."

"Okay, okay, then let me see my little brother. There's a picnic table over here," Sabo said, leading a nervous Ace a little ways away from the noisy and crowded entrance. Sabo lifted the visor to see Luffy, who was small and smiling, obviously very happy, with chubby cheeks and unruly black hair. He didn't look like a baby, but toddler seemed too old for him. He seemed in between, and was adorable.

"Hello, Luffy!" Sabo said cheerfully, and Luffy giggled. "I'm Sabo, your second older brother." He looked to Ace, a light in his eyes. "Can I hold him?"

"You're his brother, too. You don't have to ask permission," Ace replied with a smile. Things were going well so far! Sabo nodded and unclipped Luffy and scooped him up quickly, holding him up in the air. Luffy laughed louder, with a snort. Who was this man? He was nice!

Luffy didn't notice how the surroundings got a bit quieter once his wings were in full view, people looking at him disapprovingly. Luffy was unaware of Sabo's grim expression either, but not at Luffy. He hated how the adults around them suddenly glared at the cheerful baby. Sabo gave them the scariest look anyone had ever seen, as if telling them to move on or he'd murder them painfully.

But then Sabo went back to a smiling Luffy and held him against his hip. "You sure seem happy, Luffy," Sabo smiled. Luffy then gasped, startling Sabo slightly, while Ace chuckled. Luffy had spotted the flowered bush behind Sabo and the picnic table they were sitting at. Ace got up and picked one of the small blossoms and gave it to Luffy, who held it gently.

"Ah ah, no eating the flower. What's gotten into you?" Ace asked fondly. "You never eat flowers!" Luffy giggled and instead stuck his thumb in his mouth. It was sunny outside and there were flowers and balloons all over the place. Luffy was enjoying this outing.

Sabo and Ace kept trading Luffy through each animal they visited. Luffy wasn't afraid of any of the animals, and spent a considerable amount of time with the bunnies. When he watched a bunny eat what looked like a flower, Luffy gasped. He was so enthralled with the bunnies that he almost cried when it was time to leave.

But in the end, he was happy to get a stuffed animal that looked like the bunny he really liked. Sabo took a ton of pictures of the three's outing. He was enthralled with the cheerful baby. By the end of the visit, though, Luffy was exhausted and slept in the carrier as Ace and Sabo ate at a breakfast restaurant.

"He seems good for you. It's too bad we aren't living together anymore 'cause I'd love to see him more! You can bet I'll be part of his life. You gotta deal with that," Sabo said with a smile. Ace laughed, telling him he could visit whenever he wanted to. He could babysit Luffy anytime he wanted.

"Ace, what made you decide to pick him up out of that box? You could have walked right past him and not looked back. Why, this time, did you look?" Sabo asked quietly while Luffy napped. Ace twined his fingers together and had to think for a moment to come up with an answer.

"I had had a terrible day that day, and was sure I was gonna be fired for it. When I looked at Luffy, and he just looked excited to even see me, I just found myself walking away with him. Maybe I just needed a distraction from the stress and decided to use him as one. And he's made a great one, but I've also never been more happy or focused on whatever I'm doing, whether it's with him or not. I feel like he found me, even though I'm the one who saw him first. That's the only way I can explain it." Sabo leaned back.

"Man, now I want a kid," he sighed and winked at Ace's somewhat embarrassed expression. "So he goes to a daycare, right? How is that going?"

Luffy sneezed in his sleep, but didn't wake up, just smacked his lips a couple times, making Ace smile. "Well, the other daycares wouldn't take him because of the whole wing situation, but the one he's at now is really sweet. None of the really young ones play together, they just do their own thing, and Makino is super sweet to him. He had his first bully incident a couple days ago. A kid came over and started ripping apart Luffy's special flowers. Of course this really upset him, since watering and visiting his flowers are his favorite parts, and the kid got sent home.

"Makino said another older kid saved Luffy's flowers, but I didn't get either kids' names. I was _livid_ when I got the call about what happened, but when I got there, and Luffy was still upset, he went back to being fine, if not tired, after I kissed the flower better." Sabo laughed.

"Don't laugh," Ace said with red tinted cheeks. "It was worth it to cheer him up." Luffy woke up with a yawn and a noise that sounded like a coo, a noise he had never made before. He was a relatively quiet baby, except when he was crying loudly or giggling. Ace pulled out a toy for him from the baby pack the man carried around, and gave it to Luffy who started playing with it in his small hands.

It was getting darker outside as the time became later, and Ace didn't want to walk back home in the dark, since Luffy wasnt a fan of complete darkness, needing at least one lamp on at home when it was bedtime.

"I think I should head home now. It's getting darker out, and Luffy doesn't like the dark. Do you want to come over for a while? Luffy seems to like you," Ace told Sabo as he pulled up the visor on Luffy's carrier and handed the baby his new stuffed bunny. He put his baby pack on over his back and picked the carrier off of the table their empty plates were resting on.

"Sure, why not?" Sabo said optimistically, and collected his things as well. He left the check and a tip on the table and headed out after Ace and their baby brother.

Luffy didn't cry or make any noise as the sun set and the sky darkened. But they got to their home before it was completely dark. When Ace opened the door and Sabo walked in, he was surprised by how much baby stuff there was around the room. A confined space with toys spread out across the carpet. There was a baby bouncer that Luffy used after a bath to cheer up his grumpy mood. There were small blankets scattered throughout.

In other words, it was a different kind of mess than what is usually at Ace's place. The carpet was clean of any trash, and the counters were clean as well. Ace set the baby carrier on the counter and went to the cupboards to take out some baby food and a sippy cup of water.

Sabo grinned as he sat on the couch and watched his brother feed banana baby food to the baby. "It's late, Luffy, so it's bedtime. Let's go get changed. Yeah, you're sleepy, aren't you?" Ace asked with a soft smile when Luffy yawned. Ace put Luffy in a onesie, since Luffy was fine sleeping in them, when his wings didn't move too much.

Ace put a light blanket on him in his basket crib on the floor where both men could see him easily. Ace plopped down on the couch with a soft sigh while Luffy easily fell to sleep. "What?" Ace asked when Sabo continued to grin at him.

"It's just so strange. I never saw you as the kind of person to take care of such a young child. Or a child at all!" Sabo said, not too loud though. "It looks like your depression got better, too." Ace looked down at his fingers. He'd always been embarrassed about his depression and insomnia he'd had for so long. "And you're sleeping better, too. Right?" Ace nodded.

"Oh, I forgot," Ace said as he walked to the only window that could open in the living space and watered Luffy's flowers. When he walked back to Sabo, Ace said that those were Luffy's favorite thing that either of them had.

"I'm going back to work tomorrow, if you want to babysit him," Luffy's guardian told his older brother. Sabo agreed happily

After talking for awhile, not just about Luffy, though he was a hot topic, Sabo took his leave. He waved goodbye and shut the front door quietly behind him. Ace locked the door and then picked Luffy up slowly and carried him on his back to his side of the big mattress and laid down next to him, smiling at his relaxed and sleepy face. He pulled the little one closer to him so Ace was hugging him lightly as he slept.

Ace didn't wake up from his quiet alarm clock, he woke up to Luffy giggling and pulling on his hair, which was in the baby's reach. Ace smiled and then gently detached the little hand from his black hair.

"Sabo is coming to spend time with you today. A break from the daycare might be good. I'm sure Makino will water your flowers." He looked to the clock and found that it was quite early for Luffy to wake up, though he did nap a lot yesterday.

"Let's go get breakfast," Ace said with a smile, picking up Luffy and changing him into day clothes and carried him to the high chair at the very small kitchen table. Luffy was happy to have apple juice with his baby food.

Sabo knocked on the door at 9:30, walking in with a basket of yummy and soft food. He put it down on the table, and told Ace, "You know, you don't have to keep feeding him baby food at his age." Ace blushed a bit.

"I'm sorta paranoid about feeding him something thicker… what if he chokes?" Ace asked, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sure, if someone is watching him, he'll be fine. Just make sure he doesn't eat marbles or something," Sabo said offhandedly. Ace frowned at him.

"I'm not stupid, I'm not gonna just leave shit like that all over the floor. I don't even have marbles. Why on earth would I need marbles at 23?" Ace asked incredulously. Sabo shrugged.

"It was just an example," he said, going over to Luffy. "Hi, Luffy! Did you have a yummy breakfast?" Luffy smiled at him as he spoke so cheerfully. "We're gonna have a fun day today. I brought toys and a special TV show for you," the oldest brother said to the much younger.

"What show?" Ace asked curiously as he finished his cereal and cleaned the bowl in the sink. He'd adopted much better cleaning habits since taking in Luffy, and the kitchen was now always kept clean.

"Teletubbies. I found a copy at the children's section of Target last night," Sabo replied.

While Ace was at work, Sabo spent all day with Luffy. Sabo was loving the little boy while they played and ate and watched cartoons. Luffy giggled madly when the smiling baby sun came up on the small TV screen.

Luffy liked the new food he was fed, since it felt different in his mouth. He liked the creamy white stuff that tasted sweet. He liked the strawberry yogurt the most. Luffy also liked Sabo, who smiled at him a lot. But by the end of the visit, after a few long naps for Luffy, the baby missed Ace. He wanted to go to night night with Ace again. And he liked Ace's hair to play with. Sabo's hair was pretty short.

When Ace got home from work and entered the house, in Luffy's field of vision, he laughed loudly, reaching for his older brother. Ace set his backpack down and walked up to Luffy, wiping his hands in hand sanitizer first.

"Hi, Luffy. Did you have fun with Sabo all day?" Ace asked, picking Luffy up. Luffy grabbed at Ace's hair and then snuggled against his chest, his wings fluttering softly. He was very happy to see Ace. "What did you guys do?" Ace asked Sabo.

"Played with toys and watched TV. He likes Teletubbies a lot, so I'll let you keep it," Sabo joked, having no reason to keep it in the first place. Ace smiled.

"You did? They have TVs on their tummies. Isn't that weird?" Ace asked Luffy. He smiled up at Ace. The man put his bag on the kitchen counter and went to sit on the floor with Luffy in his lap. Luffy giggled when Ace tickled the baby's soft tummy.

It was getting darker when Sabo said he had to go, but would visit again sometime. Ace bid him goodbye and picked up Luffy's small wrist to wave goodbye at Sabo. Then he took Luffy to the kitchen island and sat Luffy in his high chair, going to feed him some of the food Sabo had left along with a banana baby food.

After Luffy ate, Ace put him to bed in his basket crib while Ace stayed awake and watched TV on a low volume while Luffy laid next to him, holding the big hand resting next to him on his soft cushion. Ace smiled warmly at him when he made a little smack with his lips in his sleep.

"I love you, Luffy," Ace said quietly. Luffy smiled in his sleep and tightened his grip on Ace's hand.

 **Very short chapter after this one. Hope you thought it was cute!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter concludes my first ever purely fluff story. Hope you enjoyed!**

"Luffy, your breakfast is ready!" Ace called as he set the eggs and bacon on the kitchen table. "Luffy!" he called again. The little boy came running in, having trouble staying still while thinking about his first day of kindergarten. He jumped onto his seat and began to dig into his food while Ace ate his slowly.

"Slow down. We don't want you to choke on your first day of school," Ace said with a smile, causing Luffy's eyes to widen and his pace to slow. "Okay, what did we talk about for today?" Ace asked.

"I different but is not bad an I will make friends who are nice!" Luffy chirped as he eyed the rest of Ace's food on his plate since he'd already finished all of his. Luffy's appetite took up a lot of money, but they made it by with extra money to spend.

"That's right. And if you need to come home or talk to me, that's perfectly okay. Just be yourself, okay? I'm sure you'll learn fun stuff! And play with new toys, as well," the older brother said optimistically, putting some of his toast onto Luffy's empty plate. Luffy grinned and scarfed that down.

When he was finished, Ace took the silverware and plates into the sink. "Alright, Luffy. Say goodbye to Kaya and let's go to the car," Ace said, picking up his pack that he took with him to work.

Luffy nodded and went to their cat to say goodbye. Then he bounded to the front door and to Ace. He held his big brother's hand as they walked to the car. Luffy's wings were pressed to his back by the little dinosaur backpack he wore, though it didn't hurt.

Ace pulled up to the school Luffy was starting in, and walked him to the classroom he'd be residing in. Luffy looked happy, but was nervous and not ashamed to hold Ace's hand. Ace crouched down when they entered the classroom, where there were a handful of other five or six year olds, nervous and excited as well.

The man looked Luffy in the eyes, his face level with the little boy's. "Have fun," Ace said and received a hug from Luffy. Ace kissed him on the head. "I love you, Luffy."

"I luf you too, Ace!"

The End


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